These hints will help you understand, obtain and use
plug-ins.
Instructions are intended for students using their own computers.
Modification of NCI computers should not be attempted.
This is an introduction only and students should ask
their teacher for assistance if they are having difficulty
with plug-ins required for an NCI online course.
EXPLANATION
To display all the information contained on a website (e.g.
an online course), your computer may need to have plug-ins
loaded.
A plug-in is a small accessory program which allows your
web browser to view or play certain types of files which are
not handled by the standard version of the browser (in other
words, not built into Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox
etc.).
Web pages which link to files requiring plug-ins usually
contain a warning to the viewer. Otherwise, there are file-type
symbols (icons) which identify the file-type. When clicking
on the link or double-clicking on the icon does not open or
play the file, your browser will open a window advising that
it cannot recognise the file type.
Windows of this type indicate that a plug-in is required
which is not available on your computer.
Popular plug-ins can be downloaded for free from the websites
of the companies which market them (see next
section for some websites). The download instructions
at these websites will include assistance in installing them
on your computer. When you have downloaded and installed the
plug-in, files requiring the plug-in will open and play automatically
within your browser.
SOURCES
Macromedia Flash Player, Macromedia Shockwave, Quicktime
and Adobe Acrobat Reader are four plug-ins which may be required
by NCI online courses, and also in some areas of this website.
See links below for download sites.
Adobe Acrobat Reader enables all
types of documents to be placed online and be viewed
as they would be in their hardcopy format. Files which
need the Acrobat Reader have the file type .pdf (Portable
Document Format) and are indicated on a web page by
the symbol: